Thursday, March 04, 2010

It's Soul Food People

As Black History Month comes to its conclusion I want to make a point that I feel is long overdue.

Earlier this month Questlove of the Roots posted picture of the menu for a lunch NBC served in honor of Black History Month.

The menu included fried chicken, collard greens, black eyed peas (not the shitty group with Fergie) and cornbread.

NBC's black history month menu

Now the obvious reaction is to be outraged. How dare NBC suggest black people like to eat fried chicken and collard greens.

But there is nothing to be ashamed of. It’s not an embarrassment to like fried chicken.

These foods are part of black culture. Just like Chinese food, Italian food and kosher food are part of those cultures.

Yes, it can be insulting to pull your eyes back and say “moo shoo pork” in an affected voice or to say Sandy Koufax’s best pitch is the Matzo ball or to say Bobby Engram fumbled because he was eating fried chicken at halftime.

But that doesn’t mean we should rob black people of credit for a valuable contribution to our culture just because of white guilt.

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